Tag: Trent Williams

9 former Sooners heading to conference championships in the NFL

No university has more active former players heading to conference championship weekend than Oklahoma.

No program will boast more former players on the NFL’s conference championship weekend than the University of Oklahoma. There will be a total of nine former Sooners competing for a trip to Glendale, Arizona and Super Bowl LVI.

The program closest to OU in this regard is the University of Michigan with seven former players. The closest current Big 12 program to Oklahoma would be Texas Tech, which has three players. Future Big 12 member Cincinnati also has three.

While there seems to be some argument between Oklahoma and Alabama fans as to which school is allowed to claim Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, he did have a solid day against the New York Giants in the Divisional Round. Meanwhile, Joe Mixon rushed for over 100 yards and a touchdown for the Cincinnati Bengals against the Buffalo Bills.

Few of the remaining players have as much on the line as Hurts, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this postseason. A trip to the Super Bowl could lead to a very hefty pay day.

Let’s take a look at the former Sooners who will be vying for a Super Bowl berth.

 

 

 

Eagles-49ers: 10 early stats to know for NFC Championship Game

We’re looking at 10 early stats to know ahead of Sunday’s NFC Championship Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers

The Eagles are one win away from returning to the Super Bowl and they’ll face a familiar foe in the NFC Championship game when the San Francisco 49ers head to Lincoln Financial Field next Sunday at 3:00 pm.

Philadelphia (14-3) defeated the New York Giants 38-7 on Saturday to clinch a spot in the title game and then watched on Sunday evening, as the Niners (13-4) defeated the Cowboys 19-12 at Levi’s Stadium.

The two teams last met in Week 2 of the 2021 regular season, with San Francisco defeating Philadelphia 17-11 as Jimmy Garoppolo threw one touchdown pass and ran in for another score.

All-Pro quarterback Jalen Hurts had an uneven performance in the loss, completing just 12 of 23 passes for 190 yards. He rushed for 82 yards, including a 1-yard TD in the fourth quarter.

In that matchup from last season, Nick Bosa had two sacks and San Francisco’s defense shut down Philadelphia was dominant against Atlanta in a 32-6 season-opening win.

Both teams are far different from that Week 2 matchup and the Eagles are much more explosive on offense after the addition of A.J. Brown.

With preparation set to begin, we’re looking at ten early stats to know for the NFC Championship Game.

Multiple former Washington players will be active on Wild Card weekend

Kirk Cousins and Trent Williams headline the list of former Washington players in action on wild-card weekend.

The Washington Commanders looked to be in an excellent position to make the NFC playoffs after a Nov. 27 win over the Atlanta Falcons to improve to 7-5.

Unfortunately for the Commanders, they’d go winless in their next four games and were eliminated during Week 17. Washington would defeat the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18 to finish the 2022 season 8-8-1.

The NFL wild-card round kicks off Saturday, and for the first time, there are six games over three days, ending with Monday night’s NFC battle between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys.

While the Commanders will not play in the playoffs, there are multiple former Washington players who will be in action on wild-card weekend. We’ve listed several former Washington standouts who will play this weekend. This list does not include those players presently on practice squads.

Kirk Cousins and Trent Williams are the headliners? Who are the rest?

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5 Oklahoma Sooners named to AP NFL All-Pro teams

Oklahoma Sooners had five former players named to the Associated Press All-Pro teams.

With playoff football upon us, the Associated Press announced its All-Pro teams for the 2022 season. Five Oklahoma Sooners received first and second-team honors for their work this season. Trent Williams and Lane Johnson were first-team selections, and Creed Humphrey, CeeDee Lamb, and Jalen Hurts made the second team.

Oklahoma’s reputation for developing some of the game’s best offensive linemen continues to grow with three of the 10 offensive line selections coming from the University of Oklahoma. Humphrey was named the center for the second team, his first selection ever. Humphrey’s work as the brains and brawn protecting arguably the best QB in the league in the Kansas City Chiefs,  Patrick Mahomes, has not gone unnoticed.

The first-team selection was the second consecutive first-team selection for Williams, who has a total of three All-Pro selections in his career. Johnson landed his second first-team selection.

Williams will suit up on Saturday as the San Francisco 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round.

Johnson continues to rehab in an attempt to play for Philadelphia next week. The Eagles are on a bye this week after locking up the NFC’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

In an MVP-type season, Jalen Hurts led the Eagles to the No. 1 seed in the NFC behind his 3,701 passing yards and 22 passing touchdowns. He completed 66.5% of his passes in his breakout season. He added 760 rushing yards and 13 rushing scores on the ground..

Joining Hurts and Humphrey on the second team is Dallas Cowboys star receiver CeeDee Lamb. Lamb just put together his best NFL season to date. He solidified himself as a bonafide star, capable of leading the Dallas wide receiver group.

He totaled 107 receptions for 1,359 yards and nine touchdowns and averaged 12.7 yards a reception. He came up four receptions shy of tying the Cowboys’ record for most catches in a season. He’ll need another monster performance on Monday night with the Cowboys traveling to Tampa Bay to take on Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.

Oklahoma’s well-represented among the elite players in the NFL and will be well-represented this weekend on the playoff stage.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Myles Garrett joins 49ers LT Trent Williams in elite territory

Only Trent Williams of the 49ers and Browns defensive end Myles Garrett have accomplished this feat.

Those in Northeast Ohio tend to play devil’s advocate and say defensive end Myles Garrett is not doing enough for the Cleveland Browns. In reality, he is the only player in the NFL with 16 sacks in each of the last two seasons (despite getting double-teamed at the highest rate in the NFL) and joins San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams as the only two players to finish the season with a PFF grade of 92 or higher.

Garrett was voted as a First-Team All-Pro by his peers this week, and he continues to be the standard of pass rushers in the league. The Browns have one of the very best on their roster, and as they get a new defensive coordinator who can deploy him more effectively, Garrett could be reaching new heights shortly.

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4 49ers recognized by peers in first-ever Players’ All-Pro vote

The 49ers were well-represented in the inaugural Players’ All-Pro team.

The NFL for the first time didn’t just leave All-Pro teams to media outlets. In 2022 they debuted the Players’ All-Pro teams, which is a set of two All-Pro squads voted on by players.

Typically the All-Pro voting is left to a panel of media members from the Associated Press. Pro Football Focus and other football analysis sites also do their own All-Pro teams.

A players’ version comes with the added bonus for players of getting recognition from their peers. 49ers’ fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who was a First-Team All-Pro, tweeted that landing in that group was one of the most meaningful honors of his career.

San Francisco was well-represented on the list, with four players making it on the first team. That’s tied for the most of any team with Kansas City – the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Here’s who landed on the Players’ All-Pro First-Team from the 49ers:

Every offensive lineman the Oklahoma Sooners have offered in the 2024 recruiting cycle

Which offensive linemen have the Oklahoma Sooners targeted thus far in the 2024 recruiting cycle?

The Oklahoma Sooners have created a reputation for developing NFL-caliber offensive linemen thanks to the work of offensive line coach [autotag]Bill Bedenbaugh[/autotag]. [autotag]

Creed Humphrey[/autotag] and [autotag]Orlando Brown[/autotag] are prime examples of the work that is done at OU. Humphrey is arguably the best center in the game just two years into his collegiate career.

Even prior to Bedenbaugh’s arrival in Norman, the Sooners developed two of the best offensive linemen in the NFL today, [autotag]Trent Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Lane Johnson[/autotag]. The offensive tackles have starred in the league for much of the last decade and continue to do fantastic work at their tackle positions.

Oklahoma’s latest great offensive line talent is on his way to the NFL and has a chance to be a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Anton Harrison was a tremendous asset for the Oklahoma Sooners offense. He was as adept in run blocking as he was as a pass-blocker, and he takes great athleticism to Sundays.

Oklahoma’s 2023 signing class featured four-star [autotag]Cayden Green[/autotag], who was one of the best interior offensive line prospects in the country at the high school level. Oklahoma is hoping to hit home runs with late-rising offensive line signees [autotag]Joshua Bates[/autotag], [autotag]Heath Ozaeta[/autotag] and [autotag]Logan Howland[/autotag]. All four of their signees to the 2023 class are athletic and physical players who will be difference-makers on Saturdays.

With the 2023 class nearly wrapped up with national signing day just a few weeks away, the Oklahoma Sooners turn their attention to a talented 2024 offensive line class. Here’s who they’ve offered thus far in the [autotag]2024 recruiting cycle[/autotag], according to 247Sports.

8 Sooners named 2023 Pro Bowlers

Eight former Sooners named to the Pro Bowl, led by four offensive linemen, which is the most from any college.

Oklahoma is in the midst of signing their stars of tomorrow. If they have aspirations of getting to the NFL, knowing how many Oklahoma go to the NFL (fourth all-time in NFL draft picks) and that they excel when they get there might make a difference. This year for example as eight former Sooners were announced as Pro Bowlers earlier this year.

Several Sooners were selected to the Pro Bowl for the first-time. Several veterans, who are now considered the gold standard at their positions, continued to rack up Pro Bowl selections.

No college had more Pro Bowl selections along the offensive line than Oklahoama’s four. Here are the eight former Sooners who now can call themselves 2023 Pro Bowlers.

5 49ers to watch in Week 16 vs. Commanders

The 49ers are loaded. Here are five San Francisco players to watch in this weekend’s game against the Commanders.

The Washington Commanders were in an excellent position just one week ago. With a 7-5-1 record, the Commanders held the NFC’s No. 6 playoff spot, and a win in Week 15 over the New York Giants would’ve pushed their playoff odds to around 90%.

Unfortunately, the Commanders, who had a week off before Week 15, also had the benefit of playing the Giants before the bye. Yet, another disastrous start doomed Washington in a one-score loss. Now, the Commanders still hold the No. 7 spot in the NFC playoff picture, but the road is much more challenging.

That road begins Saturday with the San Francisco 49ers. Not only do the Commanders have to travel across the country, but it’s also on a short week. And against a team with arguably the best defense in the NFL.

Even with a rookie seventh-round pick at quarterback in Brock Purdy, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense is still lethal. Washington’s defense will need another heroic effort Saturday to give the Commanders any shot at an upset.

We’ve identified five 49ers to watch for Washington fans ahead of this weekend’s clash.

Commanders at 6-5: How often have you said that?

It’s not often Washington has been over .500 at this point of the season.

With Sunday’s win in Houston, the Commanders rose above the .500 mark and now are sitting at 6-5 with six games to play.

You may recall last year’s team (2021) was 2-6, won four straight to get to 6-6 but then lost four straight before winning the season finale.

Usually at this stage of the season after the 11th game, the season is pretty much over for Washington fans. Sadly, in the last 30 seasons, it has not been often that at this stage of the season, Washington even had a winning record.

The 2018 team was the last Washington team to be 6-5 or better. However, they had actually been 6-3 but lost to Houston when they lost Alex Smith for a year and a half. That team lost four straight as both Smith, and his backup Colt McCoy suffered a broken leg. The 2018 team, having to play Josh Johnson and Mark Sanchez off the street at quarterback, actually lost six of their final seven games, finishing 7-9.

The 2016 team was 6-5-1 but heading the wrong way, having been 6-3-1 when suddenly Trent Williams tested positive again, letting down the team, and being suspended the next four games.

The 2015 team, with Kirk Cousins in his first full season as a starter, was 5-7 before winning their final four games to capture the NFC East title at 9-7. Similarly, yet, even more, the 2012 team in Robert Griffin’s rookie season was 3-6, rebounded, and won their final seven regular season games to finish 10-6 atop the NFC East.

Of note, the 2005 team was 5-6 before winning their final five games to finish 10-6 and win the NFC East.

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